Don’t be surprised to see Liverpool youngster Rio Ngumoha on the plane to the 2026 World Cup.
That’s what Troy Deeney thinks, with the race for a spot in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad well and truly on. The national boss is preparing for upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Andorra at Villa Park is up first followed by a trip to Serbia.
And with nine months to go until next summer’s showpiece in America, Canada and Mexico, Tuchel has dropped his latest hint over which players he may consider taking with him.
Among the surprise decisions this time around were the omission of Trent Alexander Arnold, who left Liverpool for Real Madrid in June.
Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson also earned his first senior England call-up, as well as Tottenham full-back Djed Spence.
And there was surprise when Ruben Loftus-Cheek was recalled, seven years after his last England cap.
But with nearly a whole season to play until Tuchel names his final squad, there is plenty of time for other stars to put themselves in the shop window.
Could Ngumoha be the surprise package?
One player who may already be in the back of the England boss’ mind is Liverpool starlet Ngumoha, who marked his Premier League debut with a stunning last-gasp winner in a 3-2 victory over Newcastle.
In doing so, the teenager – who only turned 17 in August – became the Reds’ youngest-ever goalscorer, aged 16 years and 361 days.
And Watford legend Deeney believes a place in Tuchel’s World Cup squad is a real possibility for Ngumoha – if he continues to make an impact for Arne Slot’s team.
Asked about a potential surprise call-ups, Deeney told talkSPORT.com: “This is England. We always do something stupid, don’t we?
“It’s like when we took Theo Walcott [to the 2006 World Cup at 17], because he was a young kid and he was rapid. And obviously Theo went on to have a great career.
“But who knows. If Rio keeps playing and being involved like he is now, and scores seven or eight goals, he could probably go.
“There’s a few [players] like that, that you’d have to just watch and see.”
What happened to Theo Walcott?
Walcott’s inclusion in the summer of 2006 shocked many, especially given he had not played competitively for Arsenal since his transfer from Southampton in January.
The late Sven-Goran Eriksson called him up, but years later said it was the wrong decision in various interviews.
“I’ve said this clearly for many years that I should never have gone – there were other players that had experience and had played at the highest level and I was new to the game.
“All the circus that came with it, I didn’t want to be a part of. For me, it was all about playing and enjoying my football. It was a really tricky moment when I was consoling people like John Terry who won many things and had many caps for England. And I’m a 17-year-old boy who’s thinking I shouldn’t even be here.”
Despite being tipped for a surprise senior call-up, Ngumoha was only named in England’s Under-18s squad for the first time this week.
The forward will join up with the Young Lions for their upcoming fixtures against Uzbekistan, Morocco and Canada at the Costa De La Luz U18 international tournament.
Do England have issues?
And while Deeney claimed Ngumoha could force his way into Tuchel’s plans next summer, he did not have much optimism otherwise for England’s chances at the World Cup.
Sharing his Three Lions predictions for the foreseeable future, he said: “We’re playing Serbia and Andorra [next].
“You know what’s going to happen – we’ll win, we’ll get through the groups comfortably. And then everyone’s going to go: ‘We’re going to win the World Cup!’
“We get to the World Cup, we’re going to have an easy draw – we’ll do alright in that.
“Get to the quarters and the semis, playing against good teams, and we don’t have a plan B and we’ll struggle.
“Been there, done it, saw it again.”
Among Deeney’s concerns were a lack of back-up options for captain and top scorer Harry Kane, who has been England’s first-choice striker at each major tournament since the 2018 World Cup.
This has continued into Tuchel’s reign, with England’s all-time record goalscorer starting each of his four games in charge.
Despite this, Deeney admitted he felt it could pay to consider other options, adding: “Maybe a plan B – imagine that.
“I hope it doesn’t happen, but what if Harry Kane gets injured? Who are you throwing in? We don’t know, because every single f****** game we play Harry Kane.”